(JNS.org) Housing prices in Judea and Samaria continue to rise at a rate faster
than in the rest of Israel.

The Beitar Illit community in Gush Etzion, Judea and Samaria. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

High demand and low supply characterize the housing market in various
Judea and Samaria communities, Israel
Hayom reported. In the newly built Leshem quarter of the Alei Zahav community,
houses which sold for NIS 900,000 ($252,000) two years ago now sell for up to
NIS 1.7 million ($477,000). Similar price spikes have been reported in Yakir,
Etz Ephraim, Har Bracha, and other communities in Samaria.

In the last decade, the population of Gush Etzion has tripled,
surpassing 20,000. The local council chief, Davidi Perl, said that for every Jewish
community in Gush Etzion, an average of 15 families were hoping to be accepted
as residents. Overall, 300 families are waiting to move into Gush Etzion.

Housing prices in Gush Etzion, meanwhile, over the last five years have
skyrocketed by dozens of percentage points. A piece of land in the Gush Etzion
community of Tekoa cost just NIS 50,000 ($14,000) only five years ago. Now, the
starting price is NIS 350,000 ($98,000). Demand for housing is so high in Gush
Etzion that in recent years, some towns there have begun collecting “entry
fees” for prospective inhabitants.

Real estate prices have also risen dramatically in Ariel, doubling in
the last three years. A four-room apartment that cost NIS 600,000 ($168,000)
three years ago sells today for up to NIS 1.2 million ($336,000). A cottage
that could have been bought then for NIS 700,000 ($196,000) sells today for NIS
1.5 million ($421,000).

“It was only recently that we received construction permits, but we are
still far off from meeting the minimum requirements in the city,” Ariel Mayor Eli
Shviro said. “The demand is tremendous, but the supply is low.”

Israel recently announced plans for 1,200 new housing units
in eastern Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, a decision that was slammed by the
United States due to concern over the fate of Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the efforts to renew negotiations, said Aug.
12 that the U.S. “views all of the settlements as illegitimate.” Those
communities, however, are situated in an area that is considered to be subject to the
result of Israeli-Palestinian final status negotiations.

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